Children's "Biscuits" - No added sugar

Toddler Biscuit Cookie...things

Trying to find a biscuit recipe for a 20 month old toddler was a minefield of Syrups and "as much sugar as you are comfortable with for your child". Now we are not a totally no sugar household, but as a rule of thumb it is something we try to do without at the moment, will save sugar treats in the back pocket for the terrible twos!. 

So how to make a "sweet" treat...that isn't sweet?

Well, I blagged it, and our toddler devoured them, and I thankfully was paying attention to how much of what I was throwing together.

Now these are soft biscuits, somewhere on the scale towards a scone, but in shape and size little biscuits for your toddler, and as I caught her in the act of theft, apparently your partners.

Okay I think I have mentioned Child, biscuit, toddler, and young enough for Google...oh wait, cookie!

Don't feel limited by the recipe, want some nutmeg, ginger, lemon, or Orange zest? Give it a whirl, the base will handle pretty much anything you add to give it a little extra flavour. Don't like dates? Boom, literally any dried fruit will work!

Recipe and method below, enjoy :)

Recipe

- 1 banana (fresh or defrosted)

- Peanut Butter 100g

- 1 whole egg

- 2 tsp Cinnamon

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 150g flour

- 100g Oats

- 40g melted butter

- 4 Dates 

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Throw banana and peanut butter (we use whole peanut crunchy as I can't get enough of it!) and the egg into a blender and whizz until a paste is formed (if using defrosted banana, take flesh and leave juice behind).

Add dry ingredients, and chopped dates to the mix.

Finally add melted butter in two parts, as you may not need the last bit. It should be a slightly sticky dough!

Now roll dough out to thickness of just over a pound coin and cut with whatever shapes you have.

In the oven for 8 - 10 minutes, then bring out and cool.

Easy as that.

After all my low sugar nonsense I may have dusted with a little icing sugar and cinnamon mixed together... But that's my lack of self control!

Hope you and you little one/s enjoy!

Linguine Vongole

Linguine Vongole (Clams)

Hey,

First and foremost - recipe, method, and link to video at the below. Read on for all the search engine good stuff!

I love seafood - and my partner LOOOVES seafood! Coming from Sardinia it's what she grew up with, this dish was inspired by those classic tastes, but was made as we successfully gathered our own Clams! 

After a day combing the beach (okay, maybe 20 mins on a beach trip) we had gathered enough Clams for tea (or dinner if you like) and decided to do one of my favourite pasta dishes with them.

I would have photo's to share - but I may have smashed my phone on waterfall walk in Wales...oops.

Spaghetti Alle Vongole - it's a classic dish with clean flavours allowing the Clams to shine. This dish has a slight twist as I have used linguine, for the very culinary reason, that's what was in the cupboard! We also had to remove the Chilli as I forgot to pick one up from the shops - off to a great start!

Linguine Vongole Recipe (for 2)

• 150g Linguine
• 500g Clams
• 10-15 Cherry Tomatoes
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• Parsley
• White Wine
• Olive Oil
• Fresh Red Chili (Optional)

Method

This is a wonderfully quick and easy dish to put together (once you have clean clams!) and is packed full of flavour - the key is to really lightly cook the clams so that they don't become little rubber bullets!

1. If you have managed to gather your own clams you will need to wash the shells and then purge the clams in seawater (if you have it) or salinated tap water. This is a really good blog on the process: purge-clams. If shop bought you can most likely skip the above step - but it won't hurt and may get rid of any trace elements of grit or sand in your clams.
2. Get a pan of water on to cook the pasta, once boiling season well with salt and then add pasta to cook.
3. As pasta is cooking it is time to get the other prep done:
•  cut the (washed) Cherry Tomatoes in half
• Peel and slice the Garlic
• Chop the Parsley
• and if you want a little heat slice the fresh Chili
4. Get a large pan (with a lid) and put it on the stove on high heat (aim to have this on the stove with 3-4 minutes left of pasta cooking time).
5. When pan is hot and pasta has only 2-3 minutes left add all the other ingredients (except for Parsley) into the hot pan and put the lid on:
• Clams (drained)
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Garlic
• A good splash of White Wine (about 150 ml)
• and Red Chili
6. Give the pan with the Clams in a gentle shake after 1 minute to encourage clams to pop open.
7. Drain the pasta once cooked (do this quickly so that it retains some of its cooking water; into colander, back into the pan - don't leave it standing to drain), get it back into it's pan and stir in a generous glug of olive oil.
8. Check Clams (should take 2-3 minutes to cook, once all have popped open remove the lid, and in the pasta, and the Parsley stir together gently so as not to chip an shells.
9. Add seasoning to taste (it's a thin sauce so a little goes a long way).
10. Serve and Enjoy!

It really is a fast dish to put together and is full of flavour.

Finished Clam Pasta bowl

Close up of Cooked Clams

As always it will be a huge help if you engage with the blog and video (below) like, comment, subscribe, and share. :)

Thanks/Bye

Rob

x